Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Air Quality Targets by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Air Quality Targets by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how did Singapore perform in 2021 and 2022 for PM2.5, PM10, sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions respectively; (b) whether the Government has conducted any review of the failure to meet the 2020 air quality targets; (c) whether there are any updates to Singapore’s long-term air quality targets; and (d) whether there are new plans being developed to meet the long-term targets and, if so, what are they.

Answer:

1 The concentrations of the key air pollutants in 2021 and 2022 are available on the Department of Statistics website (singstat.gov.sg). Information on air quality is also available through the Key Environmental Statistics published annually by my Ministry.

2 In 2021 and 2022, Singapore’s air quality was in the ‘Good’ or ‘Moderate’ range 99.5% and 100% of the days, respectively. Singapore has met the 2020 air quality targets for nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and fine particulate matter, PM2.5. Particulate matter, PM10, and ozone continue to be a challenge due to multiple factors including the weather, and complex chemical reactions between the pollutants and the environment.

3 We will continue to review our air quality targets as well as policies to address local pollutant emissions. For example, the emissions standards for motorcycles and existing industrial plants were further tightened this year.